First, many thanks to all who have sent kind messages after my resignation, here, on the blog & elsewhere. They are much appreciated. On the board issues, I agree with Tango, especially as the Compass review will be out shortly, which (sneak preview) has things to say about the composition of the board, which will probably influence the next election. Saad of course is "semi-elected" as he is the runner-up in the last election with the highest votes who still wants to be on the board.
John/Johnbod
On 05/02/2013 12:00, wikimediauk-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org wrote:
Send Wikimediauk-l mailing list submissions to wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to wikimediauk-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org
You can reach the person managing the list at wikimediauk-l-owner@lists.wikimedia.org
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Wikimediauk-l digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: John Byrne stands down as Treasurer and Trustee of Wikimedia UK (Thomas Dalton)
Message: 1 Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2013 19:09:54 +0000 From: Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com To: UK Wikimedia mailing list wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org, HJ Mitchell hjmitchell@ymail.com Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] John Byrne stands down as Treasurer and Trustee of Wikimedia UK Message-ID: CALTQcccg9wKPW2WMF+wswCFw32Y9=VKmYSDv_UxpYz6ernHzPA@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
On Feb 4, 2013 5:14 PM, "HJ Mitchell" hjmitchell@ymail.com wrote:
Thinking constitutionally for a moment, this leaves us with a relatively
small board, no treasurer, and quite a high proportion of co-opted trustees (a ratio which will increase if a replacement for John is co-opted). Obviously the AGM is only four months away, which will soon be upon us, and it might not be a situation that can be helped, but it doesn't seem to me (as a lay member) to be desirable.
If the two vacant seats are filled by co-option, that still leaves a majority of the board elected, so I don't think the democratic legitimacy of the board is too badly hurt. If we weren't so close to the agm, there might be an argument for an egm rather than use co-option, but I think we can wait a little to have our say.
On 05/02/13 13:48, John Byrne wrote:
Saad of course is "semi-elected" as he is the runner-up in the last election with the highest votes who still wants to be on the board.
I have taken up a position in the same way, a year after an election (it was 2009). Hence, in a three year term, I served only two years (2010 to 2012), and then stood for election in November 2012 and was re-elected for a full three years (2012 to 2015).
Diversity being a big issue for charities, and other bodies (e.g. the NHS in my case), gaining both experienced people and a diverse membership is a tough nut to crack. As a result of the above, I sat on a interview panel that was white, "middle aged" and male.... I guess that includes me!
Routes into being a Trustee should try to get a good mix on the Board. John, I think you stand as an excellent example of that pathway, since your contributions to the development of Wikimedia UK pre-date your appointment as a Trustee. Others, may in future, do more and more for the charity, and then realise that being a Trustee is the next logical step.
Gordo
wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org